Category Archives: What I’m Reading This Week

Banks, especially retail ones are losing market share from apps like Venmo. The LA Times has a report on how banks are trying to claw back into this space with a push into peer to peer payment systems. While not the same, but related, I wrote a piece on Medium a few weeks ago about how mobile payments are impacting those that were previously un-banked in the developing world. You might enjoy it as related reading.

Smashbox, a brand owned by Estée Lauder, has some interesting data on how people use a tool for trying on makeup virtually according to a piece in Fast Company. This could have major implications on how we buy in a post shopping mall world.

The Washington Post has a really cool video of a concept car produced by Lucid Motors.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is trying to change the way that medical research spreads. They are changing the way that research is shared, which could have a huge impact on speeding up medical discovery and innovation. This piece from the Economist is a really good piece.

The New York Times published a story on how self-driving cars could really benefit those who can’t drive, especially the elderly who sometimes lose their licenses. This is one of the big benefits I really hadn’t considered and expands the market for who cars are for, which I think is pretty neat. Wish I had thought about this before publishing my story “Cars of the Future” on Medium, but that’s life.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz handed the reins of Starbucks over to his successor and COO, Kevin Johnson. Should be interesting to see what kind of things change with Schultz taking a less active role.

ESPN Magazine published a piece about a new addiction that is hitting locker rooms all around the NBA and it isn’t what you expect. My friends got a chuckle out of this story and I think you will too.

Scientists from Harvard Medical School are having success with a drug that reserves aging in the DNA of mice. They’ve published their findings in the journal Science, but there is a more layman friendly story about this in Time Magazine.

So, last week I did a good job with my new goal of writing more. I posted 3 articles on Medium.com (you can find me there on my profile at this link). I’ve been thinking a lot about a few things I’ve seen in the news and felt like this was a better place to share than on Medium, just because what I am writing about isn’t long enough for an entry there.

A couple days ago, Intel announced that they are purchasing Mobileye, an Israeli startup that makes cameras and sensors that are used for self-driving cars. Interesting to see that Intel is getting into this business. Intel likely sees how much potential the self-driving car market has and wants to try to get in. They’ve really struggled to get any real footing with mobile devices. This has been a problem, especially given the shrinking size of the PC market (desktops and laptops). Fortune Magazine ran a good piece in June that I think is worth a read.

For any of my friends that are NPR fans, Morning Edition included a story about the Stradivarius violin that was stolen from Roman Totenberg (NPR Journalist Nina Totenberg’s father) nearly 40 years old. Sadly, Mr. Totenberg died before the violin was finally recovered. One of Mr. Totenberg’s students who Ms. Totenberg described as “like a sibling” became the first to play the instrument since it was recovered and restored. Really a good listen if you have some time: http://www.npr.org/2017/03/14/519984134/a-stolen-then-recovered-stradivarius-returns-to-the-stage

Janet Yellen announced today that for the second time in the last several months, the Federal Reserve increased the benchmark interest rate. You can find really good coverage of this in the NY Times, Washington Post, and LA Times. I don’t think anyone was too surprised by this. The increase in the rate was modest, but Yellen suggested that there will be a few more increases in the rate as the year goes on.

As I have time, if I don’t have enough to write about one thing, I might post something like this. I love sharing what I’m reading and if you want to share what you’ve been reading, I’d love to read it!